Knowra Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was a North African bishop and Christian theologian whose writings, including Confessions and The City of God , profoundly shaped Western Christianity and philosophy.
Manichaeism : A religion founded by Mani that explains the world through conflict between principles of light and darkness. Augustine followed this dualist religion for years before rejecting it for Christianity.
Original sin : The doctrine that humanity inherits a condition of sin or its consequences from Adam’s transgression. Augustine argued that Adam’s fall left human beings unable to attain righteousness without grace.
Thagaste : An ancient Roman town in North Africa, now Souk Ahras in Algeria. Augustine was born and raised in this town in Roman Africa.
The City of God : Augustine’s long work contrasting the heavenly community with earthly societies and defending Christianity after Rome’s sack in 410. It became a major source for Christian reflection on history, empire, and political allegiance.
Augustine and the Donatist controversy : A conflict in North African Christianity over church legitimacy and the status of clergy who had compromised during persecution. Augustine’s support for state coercion against Donatists raises lasting questions about religious authority and force.
Neoplatonism : A philosophical tradition derived from Plato that describes reality as emanating from a supreme, immaterial source. Its account of immaterial reality helped Augustine understand evil and the soul.
Divine grace : In Christian theology, God’s freely given aid by which people are saved or enabled to live righteously. For Augustine, grace initiates and sustains the good will that salvation requires.
Roman North Africa : The provinces and territories of North Africa governed by Rome in antiquity. Augustine’s education, career, and church leadership unfolded in this Latin-speaking region.
Augustinianism : A broad tradition of Christian thought influenced by Augustine’s teachings on grace, sin, the will, and the church. Later theologians adopted, disputed, and revised doctrines associated with Augustine.
Augustine and sexuality : The study of Augustine’s accounts of desire, marriage, continence, and sexual sin. His influential writings remain disputed for their account of bodily desire and its moral consequences.
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